


Brother Mine

by Karlina101



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: AU, No splinter yet, OCish characters, Shitty guardian, high school!au, human!AU, underground fighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 22:33:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20881751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karlina101/pseuds/Karlina101
Summary: The Hamato brothers have never known an easy life, but that doesn't mean it has to stay that way. When Leo get's the chance of a lifetime to win his family a better future out of the slums of NY's foster system by joining the underground "Mecha Fights," Leo will do anything to save his family from the clutches of their shitty home life.With one chance at a scholarship that could save them all, can Leo save himself? Human!Turtles High School!AuSorry shitty summary, original characters and plenty of Leo bashing ahead.





	Brother Mine

Chapter 1: Hero Complex

Leonardo remembered that there was once a time when he’d believed that there was such a thing as ‘justice’ or ‘fairness’ in the world. That if he kept his head down and did the ‘right thing’, the universe would one day realize that ‘Hey, he’s a good person that doesn’t deserve crap thrown at him, why don’t I leave him alone?’ and, just once, would give him a little respect for the good he tried to do. That’s what most people preached, right? Do good and you get good?

‘Ha,’ he thought sullenly, ‘That's a hilarious idea, where'd they get it?’

It was certainly a mystery to him. A mystery filled with gaping holes, fool’s gold shavings, and  
pants-on-fire mistruths. No, it was all a joke. A laughably hilarious joke. 

Leo hesitantly prodded at the sore spot that was quickly bruising into a motley mess on his jaw. It was so large that it took up the whole lower side of his face below his ear, and every heartbeat sent a noticeable pulse through it. It was painful, but not nearly enough to keep him from glaring at the mockingly empty wooden chairs across from him as if they had personally given it to him. 

It really shouldn’t have surprised him that he was the only one sitting in front of the principal’s office, again. He had to be the only student in the whole district that could sit alone for a “crime” that involved multiple people, and yet be the only one waiting for punishment. 

He kicked his heels irately at the legs of his unforgivingly stiff chair, and deliberately ignored the dark backpack lying on the grey tile at his feet, although he could have sworn he felt the USB in the inner pocket staring at him accusingly. He determinedly avoided looking at his watch again. There was no point in keeping track of time anymore. 

He hunched as deep into his blue hoodie as possible. It didn’t matter if his part of the English presentation was going to be due in -- it didn’t matter. 

He glanced down the hall when one of the classrooms erupted into muffled laughter behind a closed door, then quieted into a polite applause that echoed down the solitary wall tiles. He smacked a hand over his face. 

“You had to do it, didn’t you?” He muttered to himself as he rubbed his dark eyes in exasperation. “You literally could not help yourself, you just had to jump in the middle of something that was none of your business whatsoever. You could have let it go, could have gone to your table and met up with Ray like you were supposed to but nooo. You could have ignored it, could have walked away and rehearsed the presentation, but no, of course you didn’t, because you had to play hero. Like an idiot. A stupid, stupid idiot!” He slid back in his chair with a groan.

He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and considered the possibility of just running down the hall to his class, never mind the office visit. He was probably already going to get a week’s detention that he would have to argue his way out of, so why shouldn't he just quickly give his presentation, get the grade, then deal with the fall out? 

He peeked from between his fingers to his English classroom’s door. He glanced down at his watch, down at his backpack, then back to the door. He bit his lip.

What was the worst that could happen?  
………………………………………………..

“What do you mean I’m suspended?” 

Ms. Maggie - or as Leo and everyone else in this hellhole called her, Ms. Baggie - sighed in exasperation and delicately removed her high ridge glasses from her pudgy nose and placed them next to the hulking prehistoric artifact she called a computer. She took a steadying breath, and then turned to stare down at Leo with such disdain that he almost felt like a weed. The temperature almost seemed to recede on itself, and he wondered for the briefest moment if the sun ever surprised itself into shrinking from that look. 

“Mr. Hamato, do you like to visit this office?” She asked with a sickeningly placid expression, completely side-stepping his question.

‘Suspended?’ His brain whispered, horrified. ‘Suspended? I can’t get suspended.’

Leo, leaning forward in his obnoxious cat cushioned seat with his hands clenched white on the arms, worked to keep his voice even.

“Of course not, Ms. Maggie.”

“Really. Then, pray tell, why are you sitting in my office for the third time this month?” 

“Because I was dragged here by school security.”

“And why did you have to be dragged here by security?”

Leo tried not to grit his teeth, “Because I had a presentation due that was worth twenty-percent of my grade and I really, really, didn’t want to miss it. Having security drag you out of the room half-way through a discussion about King Lear is bound to give me extra points though.” 

Her placid expression soured like curdled milk. 

“Mr. Hamato, you were brought here by security because you were supposed to be present for a meeting about your latest... confrontation in the cafeteria and were not. You ran away from an office meeting on top of instigating your third fight this month, and that is why you’re suspended. I’ve tried very hard to be lenient with you, but I can’t overlook this.” 

“But my presentation was due! And I didn’t start the fight; I didn’t even throw a punch!”

Ms. Maggie’s expression soured further. “Really? Then why did Mr. Zimmermen tell me you punched Ms. Addison’s stomach so hard she has had to spend her class period in the infirmary?”

Leo said nothing. Ms. Maggie exhaled knowingly and turned back to the computer. Her eyes scanned over something on her screen and her tone shifted into resignation.

“Mr. Hamato, during our previous visit, you promised that you were not going to involve yourself in anymore such tomfoolery.”

Leo scowled down at his lap. ‘Of course, she’d ignore the part where my presentation was due.’ He thought bitterly.

“You are more than aware of the consequences of such actions, yet you seem determined to not only involve yourself in such, but to start it! I’d like to hear what possessed you to think that harming another student was the best way-”

“I didn’t start it.” Leo didn’t look at her, but his lip curled up into the sneer he had been trying to avoid. His bruise throbbed.

“Addison was bullying a freshmen into giving her her iPod, and when I told her to leave her alone, she tried to punch me in the face. I tried to grab her wrists to make her stop, but then she kicked my knee and Alex nailed me in the jaw.”

He jerked out his bruised chin. 

“I told Mr. Zimmerman that when I shoved him off me, but then Addison started clutching her stomach and wheezing about how I punched her. I don’t expect you to believe me, but that’s what happened. I didn’t even hit either of them this time, I just shoved Alex off.”

Leo let go of the arm rests and fisted his hands into his backpack on his lap. Ms. Maggie started typing on her keyboard. 

Leo looked up and his face started to fall in distress. 

“This is the millionth time I’ve said that I never start the fights, it’s either me defending myself or me trying to help when she picks on the weaker kids. I never throw the first hit but no one ever seems to remember that! If you would just - ”

But Ms. Maggie was already shaking her head. 

Leo felt his hands shake, and he tried to tighten his face into a stoic expression. It felt like a fog was filtering into his brain, hazing the artificially light blue office into an impressionistic blur of light light and pastel tones. The light coming in through the window overlooking the football field behind Ms. Maggie seemed to thicken, turning the air into a dense molasses that Leo couldn’t breath in. 

His ears started to buzz.

Ms. Maggie didn’t look away from her computer, but did purse her lips. Her infernally pink nails typed his death warrant right in front of him with no restraint. In some distant part of Leo’s mind he wanted to slap his hand across the desk and smash them where they flexed across the board, but he suddenly felt too numb to do anything. 

Leo stared as the horrible ogre of a woman gave the keyboard a sturdy stab before spinning away towards the printer behind her. The machine grinded loudly and painstakingly printed out what looked like a form. She plucked it up and shook it out like an old photograph before signing it. She pushed it across to Leo’s side of the table.

“I don’t like having to suspend you Leonardo, but even if I could overlook this fight along with the others, your run from our visit isn’t something I could explain away, even if you were due for a class. When an appointment is made, an appointment must be kept. Those are the rules, you know that.” She sighed. 

“I’ve said it before, but I am disappointed in you. You’re a very promising student with excellent studying abilities, but you can never seem to keep yourself out of trouble. If there really is trouble with any of the students, then you must report it to your teachers, not try to take care of it yourself. All that will ever accomplish is you getting into situations like these.” 

She smiled in fake sympathy, 

“I truly don’t like having to suspend you, but with no evidence to support your claims - ”

“No evidence?”

Leo’s lips were numb, but the crisp black and white of the paper in front of them pushed the fog out of his head with deadly efficiency. The air suddenly felt thin again, and now Leo’s head was filled instead with righteous, indignount, disbelieving fury. 

“There's no evidence of how Alex and Addison Goban are the biggest bullies to ever slink through this school? Nothing to even make you think that Addison could be faking a stupid stomachache? I know better than anyone how clean she keeps her record, but I can’t be the only one to have even talked about what a douchebag she is! And I didn’t hit her, Alex hit me! If anyone should be suspended, it’s him!”

The sympathetic smile flashed away for a moment, and Leo managed to glimpse a shine of scornful disbelief appear on her face before the smile pasted itself on again. 

”And all the other fights that I’ve gotten in trouble for because of them were always in defense of either someone else or me, so how am I supposed to go to any of the teachers when none of you ever believe me? You could ask any kid in this school and they could tell you about all the stuff they get away with! Especially Addison! I won’t get suspended because of that-”

Ms. Maggie stood up.

“Mr. Hamato, you’ve used that kind excuse over and over again but as with every other time there is no proof of Ms. Goban ever doing such a thing. Meanwhile, I have several testimonies from teachers stating that when they witnessed these fights, it was you ‘throwing the first punch,’ as you’ve called it. Ms. Goban is a model student, and these…arguments only seem to occur when your temperament is added to the mix.” 

She picked up the form and held it in front of his face firmly. 

“I’m sorry Leonardo, but we have no proof that Addison began any fights, and any student we have asked refuses to give any sort of comment on the matter. Going by the fact that Ms. Goban and Mr. Goben is covered in bruises and scrapes while you are not, along with the fact that you ran from our appointment - I’m afraid that the punishment still stands. You are suspended for a week, starting today. I’ve already attempted to contact your guardian, but since the call went to voicemail, you’ll have to have her sign the form. You are dismissed.” 

The office was quiet. Leo sat frozen in his seat, chest heaving with disbelief. He slowly rose from his chair, searching her eyes for any sign of negotiability, but her gaze was black and firm. 

Without another word he shouldered his bag and snatched the form from her cold hand.

He stormed out the office door, not bothering to be kind to the wooden door as it slammed into the grey wall tiles. His steps thundered down the echoey hallway as he stomped with his death warrant clutched in his fist towards the front entrance. 

‘It’s ridiculous enough that the Gobans are getting away with murder again.’ His thoughts fumed as he slammed the front door open and stepped into the warming spring air. He stomped onto the front walkway and stormed towards the bus stop. 

‘But now I’m taking the fall for it? No. No way am I going down for this! I’ll fight this, I’ll fix this, I’v just got to-’

‘What, exactly?’

Leo’s stomps slowed. 

‘How, exactly, am I going to fix this? There’s no record, no higher authority.’

His stomps lightened into heavy strides. 

‘There's no teachers who will vouch for me, and everyone’s too scared to talk.’

The heavy strides slowed into dragging steps.

‘There's literally….’

The dragging steps hitched.

‘Nothing I can do.’

Leo stopped at the end of the concrete sidewalk in front of his highschool and sunk to sit at the base of a stop sign. He set his bag onto the parched grass, and after a moment, uncrumpled the form on his lap.

Leonardo Hamato is hereby suspended for initiating a physical conflict in the school cafeteria and……

His rage drained as the reality of his situation began to settle. The fog was back, washing away any other emotion within him. His eyes kept tracing over the black print, is hereby suspended...is hereby suspended...is hereby…

‘Suspended.’ He thought numbly. ‘Leonardo Hamato is hereby suspended. Leonardo Hamato is hereby sentenced to death for defending a girl with an iPod. May his eulogy include a loving tribute to his stupidity, referenced through pies thrown at his corpse along with Madonna’s song ‘I’m So Stupid.’ May his death be used as a cautionary tale to anyone who thinks that doing the right thing will ever result in anything other than misery. Because it never, ever, does.’ 

Leo sat alone with the paper, not knowing or really caring for how long. The fog never seemed to recede, only twist in lazy circles in his head, making the world feel dreamlike and distant.  
He wondered about a lot of things. He wondered if he should be panicking. He wondered if he was in shock. He wondered if he should get up and leave.

He distantly heard foot-steps slapping onto the tan concrete but still jolted when a hand abruptly landed on his shoulder.

“Leo? Leo are you okay? Why did security drag you out of class half-way through our Leer speech? Did Baggy do something?” 

Leo jerked his head up. Blocking out the sun above his face was the scrunched up and concerned freckled face of Leo’s only real friend, Ray Lancard. Suddenly the rumble of distant traffic, the dull green of the hedges, the smell of hot pavement, and the feel of a cool breeze promising rain came rushing back into his senses; the world wasn’t dreamlike anymore. 

It was real and it sucked.

Ray was a tall, lanky junior with too many freckles on his face and acid green eyes that clashed terribly with his red hair. He was a skinny thing compared to Leo’s shorter square frame, but Leo would testify in a heartbeat that Ray was no physical pushover.  
Emotionally, however, Leo had discovered that Ray had the mental fortuity of a grape - an overripe, smelly, traitorous grape that had been left in the sun too long by a rotten five year old.  
Ray waved a hand in front of his face, “Leo? Leo can you hear me-”

Leo shoved his hand off with a sour expression. “Leave me the hell alone.” 

He crumpled the form back into a ball and shoved it in his hoodie pocket as he clambered up. He snatched up his bag and tried to stalk off to the bus stop, away from the overgrown beanpole, but Ray grabbed his shoulder.

“Hey, hey, seriously, what happened? You look intense, are you okay? Look at me - '' 

Leo spun and shoved Ray off him.

“I got suspended! Is that what you want to know? I got suspended because not one person here had the guts to testify to that overgrown daffodil that I was defending myself from those tyrants!”

Ray furrowed his brows and shook his head, holding up his hands up in a ‘wait, wait’ motion.

“Wait, slow down, what happened? Alex punched you, why are you suspended? I didn’t see him get dragged out of class.” 

Leo threw up his hands and stalked in a small circle of frustration, “I know! I was the only one called in! Saint golden boy Gobin isn’t called in for nailing me in the jaw, but I get called in for Alexis’s fake cramp!” Leo kicked at the hedges. “Oh, and apparently I ‘ran away’ from this stupid office visit when that old hag knew I had a presentation due! Everyone has a presentation this week! She just happened to pick the exact half-hour I needed to do mine!”

Ray winced. “I’m sure she didn’t do it on purpose. She’s not that much of a sadist.”

Leo glowered at him. “Finals week last semester, football team laundry duty.” 

Ray cringed. “Never mind, she is. Fuck man, what are you going to do?” 

“What can I do? She’s the principle, there’s no authority to appeal to. The rerouting system worked so Lauren doesn’t know, but I don’t know how long I can keep this from the guys. If there had been one, just one fucking testimony maybe I could try to argue but everyone in the school is too fucking gutless to do anything!”

“You know talking is a social death sentence Leo. The Gobins are in everything.” 

Leo snorted. “Then what’s your excuse?”

“Excuse me?”

“You have no social life, yet you never testify.”

Ray crossed his arms, “You know I can’t get involved in this kind of shit. I can’t get any smudges on my record,”

“Oh, so I’m a smudge now? So sorry your pristiness, how dare I ask you to handle my smudginess.”

“That's not what I’m saying.”

“Then what is it then? Because as far as I’ve seen you say you have my back but you’ve never actually done anything! I’m not asking for anything huge Ray, I just need one testimony- one!” 

Ray glowered at him, “You wouldn’t even need a testimony if you could just keep your trigger fists to yourself. Hell if you just kept your head down like everyone else instead of trying to be some stupid hero you wouldn’t even be in this mess!”

Leo scrunched his nose; as if he didn’t know.

“I don’t go looking for trouble, and keeping my head down has never done shit.”

“Yeah, because telling Addison to shove her pump up her ass is the definition of keeping your head down. Along with squaring up with Alex; and-”

“They usually come after me first!” 

“Because you fight them! They’re stereotypical bullies, you challenge them and they just want to squash you harder. Half the time they pick on the freshmen is because they know it’ll rile you up. They know you can’t pin shit on them, so they get their sadistic jolly off of watching you get carted off. I’ve told you a hundred times, just ignore them and they’ll eventually get bored.”

Leo threw his hands up.

“What am I supposed to do, just let them get trample the freshmen? My brothers could be them soon, Ray, I can’t just stand by and watch the status quo stay settled in freshmen hazing when they’re coming in this fall.”

“And that’s been working out so well. You fought the system like you’re a one man army, and got suspended for it. Alex even managed to land one one you this time. Who benefitted from that? I’m sure Ipod girl is very grateful.”  
On que the bruise throbbed; Leo slowly inflated like an angry balloon “At least I’m not standing by like a coward.” 

“Cowardice is smartness Leo. You’ve never gotten shit by playing hero, when are you going to learn that?”

“Same time that freckled red-heads learn the concept of loyalty.”

“Ok now you’re just being petty.” 

“Why shouldn’t I be? I’m suspended! Might as well call the funeral home because I’m good as dead and Lauren is going to raise my rent or call my job or-” 

Rays head jerked to the side, and he stared at the front of the school. The front door opened and a security guard peered out.

Ray squeaked and yanked Leo to duck behind the shrubs. Leo tumbled onto pavement and cursed as the hedge scratched at his bruised jaw. He spit out a leaf with a glare and swatted at Ray’s shin, but Ray just flapped a hand at him with a “shhh!”

Leo made a face at him. 

“What are you doing out here anyway?” Leo hissed. “You’re supposed to be in Calc.” 

Ray peeked his head over the hedge, “I was checking on your dumb-ass for all the thanks I’m getting. I wanted to make sure you hadn’t done something stupid like smothered Baggy with her own cat pillows or something.” He ducked back down when the security guard looked their way. 

Leo scoffed, “Too much evidence. Death by cat pillow would have been too obvious, I’d go to prison.” He rolled onto his back with a small huff. He cracked a small grin despite himself. “Might have been worth it though.” 

Ray gave Leo an exasperated glance before peeking over the bushes again. Leo put his arms behind his head.

Leo couldn’t bring himself to be concerned about either of them being caught. Ray was a worrywart by nature, but despite what some would call Ray’s timid nature, the guy was the best sneak that Leo had ever met. Leo had often wondered if Ray’s parents were super spies or worked in the secret forces, because Ray’s ability to weave to the front of the cafeteria line on quesadilla day without anyone noticing was something that no red-headed kid should naturally have. 

If the skinny cheerleaders couldn't spot Ray stealing their cheat-day portion of cheesy tortilla, then the security guard had no chance. 

Ray huffed as the security guard stepped back into the building and plopped down next to Leo’s splayed backpack. He moved to stretch out his legs, but Leo rolled over onto his front and splayed his limbs into Ray’s stretching space. Ray looked unamusedly down at the back of Leo’s dark head, then turned to stretch his legs in the other direction. 

“Are you done being petty now or should I just go back inside and leave you to your sulk?” He asked. 

Leo raised a splayed arm enough to flip him off. Ray hmmed and leaned back on his hands, raising his face up to the sun. Leo knew him well enough to know he was rolling his eyes, but Leo didn’t really give much a damn. He’d earned his brooding session. 

“I don’t sulk.” Leo muttered. 

“And cats don’t climb.” 

“Sulking is for losers.”

“I know.”

“Fuck you.”

“After you, bitch.”

Leo snickered and rolled back over. Ray leaned over him and kindly blocked out the sun from Leo’s view. The sunbeams made his bright hair glow at the edges, though Leo was sure that Ray would just end up with more freckles on his neck from the exposure. 

Ray quirked an eyebrow down at him.

“You ready to be reasonable now?”

“You ready to actually stick up for me?” 

Ray exhaled slowly, “You know I can’t.” 

Leo huffed, “I just need a testimony Ray. I just need one person.”

Ray rolled his eyes and fell backward to lie on the concrete. 

They were quiet for a few minutes. Leo stared at the sky and wondered what life would have been like if he’d been born different. If he hadn’t been born the oldest, or if he’d been born sooner, or if he’d had a half-decent guardian. It wasn’t the first time he’d 

thought about it, and he doubted it would be the last.

Ray poked Leo’s ankle. “So what’re you going to do now? You’ve been suspended.”

Leo burrowed into his hoodie.

“I don’t know.”

“...You’ve got a bruise.”

“...I know.”

“You can’t hide that one.”

Leo sat up, never taking his eyes off the sky. 

“Don’t remind me.” 

Ray propped himself on his elbows and tried to peer up at Leo’s face. Leo didn’t look at him.

“If Lauren finds out…” Ray hesitated.

Leo’s lips thinned into a grim line,“She won’t.”

Ray quirked a knowing brow. “If your brothers find out…”

Leo grabbed the strap of his bag and dragged it into his lap. 

Leo gave Ray a sidelong look. “They definitely won’t.” 

He rested his chin on the top of it and tried to settle his face into stoic resolution. He’d never know this, but to people who knew him like Ray did, that face simply made him look tired. 

Ray sat up and chewed at his lip. Suddenly his face brightened up, and he slapped at Leo’s arm with a crooked grin.

“Hey, how about we make the most of this and go to a Mecha match tonight? They’re bringing in new recruits, and I heard that the wonder duo mechanics are going to be releasing a new suit design. It’ll cheer you up, and we can make an extra buck. You get paid this week right?”

Leo shook his head, “No way man, I’m not in the mood. Besides I get paid tomorrow, I don’t have much to bet with with rent being due next week.”

“Aw come on man, we can watch the noobs get obliterated by Smasher! We can watch from the middle rafters this time, they fixed the panel over the ring!” 

Leo tried to offer him a small grin. “I’ll think about it.” He stood up and swung his bag over his shoulder.

Ray shrugged and joined him. “Heading to pick up?”

“As always.”

\-----------------------------------------------------

Authors Note:

Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment letting me know what you think, and stay tuned for Raph's fuck up!


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